CREATEPhilippines x MIPAM 2026 highlighted the Philippine performing arts industry’s bright potential for global expansion

When it comes to the performing arts, the Philippines definitely has what it takes to become a dominant global player. And if the recently concluded CREATEPhilippines x Manila International Performing Arts Market (MIPAM) 2026 were any indication, the local industry has been ready to take steps toward international expansion—and that it simply needs adequate support and cooperation from other sectors to make that big leap.

Held last Sept. 11 – 13 at The Tent at the Likhang Filipino Exhibition Halls and the Tanghalang Ignacio Gimenez at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), CREATEPhilippines x MIPAM 2026 was an event that combined the vibrancy of a performing arts festival with the business opportunities of a trade marketplace, all in support of the Filipino performing arts industry. Open to the public for free, it gathered players from the industry’s different sectors to network with local and international delegates looking to work with and invest in Filipino talent. The event was organized by the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM) and the CCP, with the SONIK Conference and Showcase Festival and the 2026 Federation Asia Cultural Promotion (FACP) Manila Conference as its collocated events.

A well-rounded performing arts ecosystem

Nearly 60 performing artists, performing arts organizations, and industry enablers signed up as exhibitors under CREATEPhilippines for the Likhang Filipino site of the event. Coming from different sectors of the industry—music, movement, storytelling, and production support—and across seven regions of the Philippines, the exhibitors represent the variety and well-roundedness of the country’s performing arts ecosystem: 

Aside from customizing their respective booths to present their creative expertise, the majority of the exhibitors also staged performances throughout the event’s three days. Ranging from intimate stage sessions to more bombastic presentations, their diversity was a collective reminder of the abundance of the Philippines’ performing arts heritage and its remarkable evolution, with audiences learning of or rediscovering indigenous and folk art forms and witnessing contemporary artists’ exploration of the possibilities within various creative expressions. 

Each day of CREATEPhilippines x MIPAM 2026 was capped off with a musical showcase featuring Filipino artists from different genres. All three days ended with an Awit Awards send-off concert, with bands Sunburn, Lorenzo Jan, and The Ridleys, plus P-pop&B  act VOLTER playing on Day 1; Karilyo and singer/songwriters Levii and Miguel Mendoza on Day 2; and singer/songwriters Jamiela, Natun, Ila, Mael, and Gab Cabangon, all-female alt-pop band New Lore, and P-pop acts Pix!e, 1st One, and KAIA on Day 3.   

IN PHOTOS: Each day ended with a pre-Awit Awards send-off concert featuring some of the rising stars in OPM. Clockwise from top left: (Photoset 1) KAIA, XCEGON, Pix!e, and 1st One; (photoset 2) New Lore, Jamiela, Levii, and Natun and Ila; (photoset 3) Volter, Natun and Ila, and Sunburn; (photoset 4) Karilyo, The Ridleys, and Lorenzo Jan

Developing business-savvy performing artists

What sets the event apart from the usual performing arts festival is its programming, which was carefully designed with exhibitors’ needs in mind. In between the spectacles and crowd-pleasers, CREATEPhilippines x MIPAM 2026 held Info Sessions on topics regarding the practicalities of running a creative business, with industry experts and insiders presiding over the discussions that ranged from the basics, such as the taxation system for artists and the fundamentals of protecting intellectual property (IP) and music royalties, to developing scaling and strengthening strategies for creative ecosystems.

CREATEPhilippines also set up a Business Access Corner where exhibitors and event attendees sought guidance and explored available programs and services that can support their creative businesses and projects. Representatives from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL), tax and business compliance platform Taxumo, the Artists’ Welfare Project, Inc. (AWPI), and the Filipino Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (FILSCAP) were available to field questions and consult with artists regarding their respective areas of expertise.

With most performing artists and companies operating independently, CREATEPhilippines wanted to make information crucial to their creative businesses more accessible. These capacity-building segments were thus intended to be additional resources as industry members work to standardize and professionalize their sector. 

Professionalizing the industry for greater growth

A long-term advocate for the professionalization of the performing arts industry is the Philippine Legitimate Stage Artists Group (PHILSTAGE). The organization, which brought nine of its member companies as exhibitors, presented a report during the event’s Day 2 on the stable growth that it has seen in the past two years, including an unprecedented 50% audience expansion in 2025. Yet as exciting as this development is and how beneficial it is to Filipino workers in the theater industry, it simply signals the foundation for more, bigger work ahead. 

“Talent alone does not pay rent,” said Anj Heruela, co-Executive Director of the Philippine Educational Theatre Association (PETA), who also served as the moderator of the PHILSTAGE panel discussion that followed the presentation. “If we want the next generation of Filipino artists to choose this as a life and not just as a place to grow out of, we have to keep building an industry where every designer, stage manager, dancer, choreographer, usher, and performer can say, ‘This is my career, and it can support me.’ Professionalization is not the enemy of art.” 

Panelist Audie Gemora, who is also the Creative Industries Development Council representative for the Performing Arts sector, agreed. “We must keep encouraging big businesses to see the potential of the performing arts, and I think they will partner with us; it’s just a matter of speaking their language,” he said. “We always present culture and the arts as if we were charity cases. It’s about time we present ourselves as a viable industry where investors can make money.”

“What I’ve come to realize is that the government wants to help, but it can only do so much,” added CCP Vice-President and Artistic Director Dennis Marasigan. “The best way we’re trying to help right now is by asking groups that represent the majority of the performing artists, like PHILSTAGE, and the audiences, what they think are the key areas where we can intervene and have a greater effect. Otherwise, spreading ourselves and our resources everywhere very thinly won’t achieve much.” Pointing to the government’s approval last year of the 10-year Philippine Creative Industry Development Plan that aims to strengthen the creative sector, he said, “One of the better lessons we have learned from the pandemic was that when we put our minds together, we make things happen.”

Generating business leads amid the fun

CREATEPhilippines x MIPAM’s business-matching component specifically turned the event into a lead-generating trade marketplace, with CREATEPhilippines inviting 128 delegates who were a mix of promoters, presenters, programmers, producers, and other industry partners. A little over half of the delegates came from the Philippines while the rest were international, with Singapore, Taiwan, Australia, and Malaysia as the countries with sizable representation.

Through the CREATEPhilippines website’s business-to-business (B2B) portal, both exhibitors and delegates were able to initiate contact with organizations they were interested in touching base with prior to the event to schedule B2B meetings. Almost 100 meetings were set through the portal, with more arranged in person after the delegates had witnessed the exhibitors’ showcases and visited their booths. CREATEPhilippines will also help facilitate follow-up post-event conversations. 

Most events that celebrate the performing arts typically engage with specific segments of the industry only. CITEM, however, envisioned CREATEPhilippines x MIPAM 2026 to be a bridge where these segments can meet and have substantial interactions. Although a number of the exhibitors are already familiar and have worked with each other, for many of them, the event was their first time to interact, especially those who come from different performing arts disciplines and specialties.

IN PHOTOS: The exhibitors were also happy to get together, meet, and cheer on fellow artists.

In fact, meeting other artists was the highlight for most of the exhibitors. According to an Angono, Rizal LGU representative, “The experience was inspiring and valuable, especially in terms of gaining new perspectives, meeting fellow creatives, and seeing the potential of the Filipino creative industry.” The effort to specifically highlight the performing arts sector was appreciated. “We were delighted to have the chance to meet other organizations within and outside our industry,” said 1Eighty Studios. “The event fostered not just local but also international connections."

The synergistic set-up of CREATEPhilippines x MIPAM 2026 is in line with what CREATEPhilippines has been doing since CITEM started the program in 2017, with the intention of building a platform where the country’s creative communities can connect and empower each other. The first of its kind in the country, the event is one of the opportunities CREATEPhilippines organizes where Filipino creatives can collaborate with each other to develop meaningful and world-class content that the country can proudly show on any stage.

An invitation to more Filipino performing artists to join the community

The variety of performing artists and organizations present under one roof made a positive impression on the foreign delegates. According to Kate Ben-Tovim of the Australian boutique cultural agency Turning World, there was a high-quality selection of exhibitors present. “You can really get a snapshot of the whole ecosystem of the local performing arts industry. There’s a lot of curiosity about the Philippines in Australia, so it’s great for us to experience the scene here firsthand.” She also complemented the wide range of Filipino music artists she had watched perform and noted some contemporary dance companies, such as Nude Floor and Fifth Wall, that piqued her interest. “You have great commercial artists, and the Philippine musical theater scene is also really strong. It’s just great to feel their energy and think about how we can make more connections with the Philippines in the future.”

Esti Zilber of the music export office Sounds Australia holds the same view. “There were showcases that made me think, ‘Oh, if only more of the international performing arts markets were here, then these Filipino artists would be completely appropriate for the festivals that they book for around the world.’” She noted how performing arts sectors and events tend to work in silos—or, at least, appear to—thus the necessity of a gathering such as CREATEPhilippines x MIPAM. “There is a real strength in the presence of these local industry acts,” Zilber explained. “Any industry becomes stronger when its members come together. The more you’re able to have a united front across arts and culture, the stronger the pitch and the stronger the story is for outsiders who might not be familiar with the different pockets, the different offerings, and the different players of the performing arts industry.” 

“One of the advantages we have now is having so many Filipino creatives—composers, dancers, choreographers, designers—and so many Filipino stories to tell…just a rich repertoire that we can present to create an international market for Filipino artists,” commented Ballet Manila Artistic Director Lisa Macuja-Elizalde. She thus encouraged more performing artists to take part in events like CREATEPhilippines x MIPAM. “Try never to turn down an invitation,” she advised. “We always face budget and logistical limitations, but it’s worth it to try to make each performance happen. That’s the way to be seen and get more opportunities to perform again and again. Nothing turns people off from watching you more than a bad show. On the other hand, nothing brings the audience in more than a great performance, so just keep on staging them.” 

Sustained progress through mutual support and cooperation

The hundreds-strong audience turnout for CREATEPhilippines x MIPAM 2026, which was remarkable given the inclement weather in the weeks leading up to the event, was an indication that both the industry and the general public want more of this type of gathering. CITEM is hopeful that with the continued support from its co-organizers and partners, as well as the sustained trust from the performing arts sector, there will be further installments of CREATEPhilippines x MIPAM in the future to serve the industry more substantially.

IN PHOTOS: Immersive exhibitor booths, outdoor showcases, and other crowd-activating sessions encouraged audience participation.

“We know the excellence that Filipino talents are capable of, and we know the crucial role the creative sector plays in the country’s economic growth and international standing,” CITEM Executive Director Leah Pulido Ocampo said when she welcomed attendees to the event. “Filipinos don’t lack creativity, skills, and drive, but they do need sufficient support so that their creative passions become a solid foundation for a sustainable career…CREATEPhilippines x MIPAM 2026 is both a celebration of Filipino excellence and a space for finding and creating business opportunities.”

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Stay tuned for when CREATEPhilippines x MIPAM returns!

CREATEPhilippines is the country's first government-led content and community platform for the local creative industries. A program organized by CITEM, it is the ultimate resource for stories and updates on the Philippines' creative community and a centralized directory and sourcing platform where Filipino creatives can share their portfolios and engage with a global audience.